The FPL deadline for Gameweek 8 is Friday 23 October 2026, 18:30 BST. The list below ranks available players by season points per game, nudged for how hard their fixture is (FPL's own projection for the round is shown next to each name), limited to players with more than 200 minutes so far. It is a starting point, not a verdict: check the confirmed lineups before you lock.
Top captain options this round
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City, £15.7m) v Aston Villa (away): averaging 8.3 points a game, form 9.5, 58 in total, FPL projects 9.5 this round, 76.8% owned, on penalties.
- João Pedro (Chelsea, £7.9m) v Tottenham Hotspur (home): averaging 7.8 points a game, form 7.0, 47 in total, FPL projects 7.0 this round, 72.8% owned.
- Jordan Henderson (Chelsea, £4.9m) v Tottenham Hotspur (home): averaging 7.7 points a game, form 10.5, 23 in total, FPL projects 10.5 this round, 1.1% owned.
- Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton & Hove Albion, £5.3m) v Liverpool (away): averaging 8.4 points a game, form 10.5, 59 in total, FPL projects 10.5 this round, 41.1% owned.
- Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion, £6.2m) v Liverpool (away): averaging 8.3 points a game, form 5.5, 58 in total, FPL projects 5.5 this round, 45.4% owned, on penalties.
- Rayan Cherki (Manchester City, £8.0m) v Aston Villa (away): averaging 7.3 points a game, form 5.0, 44 in total, FPL projects 5.0 this round, 37.8% owned.
- Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa, £6.0m) v Manchester City (home): averaging 7.5 points a game, form 8.0, 30 in total, FPL projects 6.0 this round, 2.8% owned.
- Alexander Isak (Liverpool, £9.0m) v Brighton & Hove Albion (home): averaging 7.0 points a game, form 4.5, 42 in total, FPL projects 4.5 this round, 13.0% owned.
How to choose between them
Erling Haaland tops the list at 8.3 points a game, but his ownership is 76.8%, so captaining him is the popular choice and gives little rank movement. A fixture difficulty of 3/5 (5 is hardest) for his side is part of the case. Penalty takers carry extra upside, and the list above marks them.
Injury and suspension flags to check
- Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool, 19.1% owned): Hamstring injury - Unknown return date
- Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City, 12.2% owned): Knee injury - Unknown return date
- Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest, 11.3% owned): Muscular injury - 75% chance of playing
- Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City, 9.2% owned): Back injury - 75% chance of playing
- Luke Shaw (Manchester United, 5.6% owned): Unspecified injury - Unknown return date
- Nobel Mendy (Hull City, 5.5% owned): Groin injury - Expected back 31 Oct
More GW8 resources
- Full GW8 hub with every fixture, team news and the table: /premier-league/gw8
- Live FPL prices and ownership: /fpl-prices